Ladies&#39; footwear without uppers



April 26, 1960 Filed Jan. 17, 1958 W. BARTELS ET AL LADIES FOOTWEAR WITHOUT UPPERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l MAMWW April 1960 w. BARTELS ETAL 2,933,830

LADIES FOOTWEAR WITHOUT UPPERS Filed Jan. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I F762. 8 u

, Rl/ODER/C'l/ HOLL ma Mum AGENT LADIES FOOTWEAR WITHOUT UPPERS Willi Bartels, Goslar, and Rhoderich Holl, Hamburg, Germany Application January 17, 1958, Serial No. 709,593

Claims priority, application Germany January 21, 1957 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-25) The present invention relates to a novel type of footwear, and more particularly to attractive ladies foot apparel.

Many attempts have been made to combine utilitarian with esthetic considerations in the making of footwear, particularly ladies stockings and shoes. All prior efforts in this direction have been confined, however, to improving the appearance of these items of apparel independently from each other so that stockings and shoes remained with their separate basic functions.

It is the principal object of this invention to produce a novel functional unit of elegance and beauty, which combines the functions of a shoe and a stocking.

' This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention by detachably attaching a shoe sole and heel unit to a stocking sole-by means of a slip sole, the stocking sole being' 'clamped between the slip sole and the outsole. The outsole does not have the conventional uppers attached thereto and the slip sole is inserted in the stocking to lie adjacent the stocking sole, means passing through orifices in the stocking sole to connect the slip sole and the outsole detachably to each other.

In this manner, the conventional shoe is replaced by a mere sole and heel unit which is held on the foot by the stocking. This produces an extremely light and graceful article of footwear which'fully displaysthe charming lines of a ladys foot and ankle. when combined with sheer stockings, it constitutes unusually attractive footwear to be worn with evening or cocktail dresses. I i It-will be obvious to'the skilled in the art that the principles of the invention may be carried out with a variety of slip sole designs and equally as many possibilities are available for connecting the slip sole detachably to the outsole.

The slip sole may be made of any suitable sheet material, including acrylic resins, polyamides and other synthetic resins, natural or synthetic rubber, woven and nonwoven fabrics, and the like; While it may consist of a unitary piece of material extending the full length of the outsole, it may also-be shorter than the outsole, or ad- Particularly jn'stable in-lerrgth; or have-anelastic center partjoining two end parts.

'In accordance with one feature of the invention, the circumferential edge of the slip sole is slightly spaced from the circumference of the outsole in case the slip sole material is relatively hard, thus protecting the sensitive stocking material from wear and tear due to impact and stresses caused by walking. On the other hand, if the slip sole material is relatively soft, it may be preferred to stiffen it, for instance, with cardboard and the like, particularly in the areas where the sole connecting means are provided.

Any suitable detachable connecting means may be used to mount the outsole and heel unit on the slip sole, including snap fasteners, sliding locks and like devices.

While the slip sole material may be relatively rigid,

Patented Apr. 26, 1960 the sole should be allowed to undergo limited longitudinal displacement with regard to the outsole. Generally, it is preferred to secure the slip sole to the outsole within the range of the ball and of the heel of the foot. Corresponding portions of the stocking sole are, therefore, provided with orifices permitting the detachable sole connecting means to penetrate therethrough.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, the stocking sole orifices have reinforced edges to increase their resistance to mechanical stress to which the sole connecting means subject them. The reinforced edges may consist of flexible reinforcing ears applied to one side or both sides of the stocking sole. They may also be produced by a suitable impregnation of the orifice edges with a latex emulsion, silicone rubber, or other natural and synthetic binding agents combining elasticity and tenacity so as to prevent undue rigidity of the stocking fabric, on the one hand, and tearing of the stocking due to friction with the connecting means, on the other hand. The reinforcing ears may be applied to preformed orifices in the stocking sole and may, for instance, be autogenously bonded thereto. It is also possible to apply a continuous tape to the stocking sole and to punch holes therethrough to form the orifices in the stocking sole and the reinforcing edges therefor simultaneously.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more fully explained in the following detailed description of certain now preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of one embodia ment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of another embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a top view of a stocking sole with reinforced orifices; I

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a slip sole and an outsole with their fastening means, the stocking sole being eliminated from this View;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 and showing a different embodiment of the slip sole;

Fig. 6 is a partial view similar to Fig. 4 but showing another embodiment of fastening means;

Fig. 7 is a section along line VII-VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged'vertical section of one embodiment of the slip sole and slip sole connecting or fastening means; and e Fig 9 is a partial perspective view of a slip sole carrying a special coating. T

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like parts in all embodiments, Fig. 1 shows the sole b with its heel a of a ladys shoe, the slip sole carrying no uppers. The slip sole is detachably secured to a slip sole c by means of screw bolts d whose heads are countersunk in the slip sole. The slip sole may be made of a synthetic resin, for instance polymethacrylic acid methyl ester. sold under the trademark Plexiglas. The slip sole is shown inserted into the stocking 1 so that thestockingsole e is clamped between theslipsole and the outsole, thereby holding theslip soleon the'foot of the wearer. The stocking sole has orifices g permitting screw bolts d to penetrate through the stocking sole.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the rear end of slip sole 0 is fastened to slip sole b by means of a button-and-slot lock h, the button being mounted on one sole while the slot is provided in the other sole. A snap fastener i is provided at the front end of the soles to constitute a detachable connecting means at that end. This provides a very convenient means for handling the slip sole because, after opening the snap fastener, the slip sole may be released from the slip sole simply by sliding the button of lock h along its engaging slide until the button is disengaged.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the shoe sole is illustrated as carrying a toe strap k and a heel protecting element m. Fig. 3 shows a stocking sole prepared in accordance with the invention. Circular orifices and p are provided along seam n in the front and rear part of the stocking sole 6, the orifices being reinforced by ears q. The cars may be made of any elastic and ductile material and they are bonded'to one or both sides of the stocking sole, pref erably autogenously. Obviously, the orifices need not necessarily be provided along the stocking seam. Also, reinforced edges q may consist of an iinpregnant applied to the stocking sole, for instance, by means of a stencil or matrix. A basic latex emulsion may, for instance, be sprayed or coated around the orifices. Silicone rub ber may be used instead of latex and may be vulcanized on the stocking.

Alternatively, instead of-providing orifices in the stock ing sole, the stocking sole may be coated with a natural or synthetic rubber, the fastening means for the slip and the shoe soles may be applied to the rubber coating and the coating may then be vulcanized to anchor the fastening means to the stocking sole.

As will be readily understood by the skilled in the art, many autogenously bonding, thermoplastic synthetic resins will be useful for the reinforcing ears, such materials adhering to the stocking sole when heat and pressure is applied thereto. Preferably, the reinforced orifice edges will be dyed a color different from that of the stocking to facilitate insertion of the fastening means.

As shown in Fig. 4, the edge of the slip sole 0 may be set back a little from the edge of outsole b. Preferably, the slip sole edge is also rounded. In this manner, the stocking is prevented from fitting too closely over the slip sole and undue wear of the stocking will be avoided.

Fig. 4 also shows a top view of the fastening means described in connection with Fig. 2. The front fastener includes a button r attached to the slip sole and a slot s having a circular end fitting said button r in the outsole. When the two soles are longitudinally moved in relation to one another until button r engages the circular end of slot s, the two soles may be detached after the snap fastener i is loosened. The arrangement of the sliding lock r, .9 permits the slip sole to shift slightly in a longitudinal direction during walking.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, the slip sole is shown to consist of two end parts c and c detachably fastened to the outsole l by snap fasteners i, the end parts being interconnected by an elastic center part c of any suitable elastomer material, such as rubber.

The fastening means illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises a pin u mounted on a stud in the slip sole, said pin being movable by 90 to lock in a slot tin the outsole for engagement and disengagement of the two soles.

Fig. 8 shows a connecting means comprising a snap fastener v in engagement with the slip sole 0 and carrying an anchor w mounted on a second snap fastener x which engages the outsole b, the anchor penetrating through an orifice of the stocking f. Rubber ears y surround the stocking orifice to lie between the snap fastener flanges z and the stocking.

While the slip sole is shown to extend over the full length of the slip sole in the embodiments of Figs. 1, 2

' is relatively rigid. Such a soft layer may consist of foam rubber, velvet, felt and like pliable materials. Insertion of the slip sole in the stocking will be facilitated if the soft layer is spaced from the edge of the sole, as shown in Fig. 9.

The Slip sole may also carry at its underside flat suction cup cavities to constitute auxiliary fastening means.

While the orifices in the stocking sole will usually be cut or punched out, it is, of course, also possible to knit them into the sole.

What we claim is:

1. Footwear comprising an outsole, a slip sole, detachable fastening means having matching portions connected to each of said soles for detachably connecting the soles, and a stocking having orifice means, said fastening means passing through said orifice means to clamp the stocking between the outsole and the slip sole.

2. Footwear according to claim 1., comprising two fastening means, one of which is a snap fastener, and the other comprises a button connected to the underside of the slip sole and a longitudinally extending slot having a round end in the shoe sole, the button being insertable in the round end and being engageable by the longitudinal slot to fasten the soles together while permitting relative longitudinal displacement therebetween.

3. Footwear according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means comprises a first snap fastener element detachably connected to the slip sole, a second snap fastener element detachably connected to the outsole, said snap fastener elements having adjacent flanges, and means passing through said stocking sole orifice means and interconnecting said snap fastener elements, the stocking being clamped between the adjacent flanges of the snap fastener elements.

4. Footwear according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means comprises a first snap fastener element detachably connected to the slip sole, a second snap fastener element detachably connected to the outsole, said snap fastener elements having adjacent flanges, anchor means passing through said stocking sole orifice means and interconnecting said snap fastener elements, the stocking being clamped between the adjacent flanges of the snap fastener elements, and elastic linings between the snap fastener element flanges and the stocking sole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,398,510 Wilson Apr. 6, 1946 2,538,673 Donahue Jan. 16, 1951 2,675,631 Doughty Apr. 20, 1954 2,686,376 Burkholz Aug. 17, 1954 uwouql-wunuw-nu -nvo t- 12 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,933,830 April 26, 1960 Willi Bartels et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 2, line second occurrence, lines 50 and 51, both occurrences lines 58, 6 21, and 169, and column 3, line 61, for "slip sole", each occurrence, read outsole Signed and sealed this 4th day of October 1960.

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

